Richard Croker
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| Richard Croker, Sr. | |
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| Born | November 24, 1843 Blackrock, Ireland |
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| Died | April 29, 1922 County Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Tammany Hall |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Frazer (?-1914) Beulah Benson Edmonson |
| Children | Richard Croker, Jr. (1877-?) Frank Croker (1878-1905) Joseph Croker (1880-?) Herbert Croker (c1802-1905) Mrs. Louis San Martini |
Richard Croker, Sr. (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922) was an American politician, a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall.
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[edit] Biography
He was born at Blackrock, Ireland on November 24, 1843. [1] He was taken to the United States by his parents when two years old, and was educated in the public schools of New York City, where he eventually became a member of Tammany Hall and active in its politics. He was an alderman from 1868 to 1870, a coroner from 1873 to 1876. He moved to Harrison, New York by 1880, then he was the New York City Fire Commissioner in 1883 and 1887, and city Chamberlain from 1889 to 1890. After the fall of John Kelly he became the leader of Tammany Hall, and for some time almost completely controlled that organization. As head of Tammany, Croker received bribe money from the owners of brothels, saloons and illegal gambling dens. He survived Charles Henry Parkhurst's attacks on Tammany Hall corruption and became a wealthy man.
His greatest political success was his bringing about the 1897 election of Robert A. Van Wyck as first mayor of the five-borough "greater" New York, and during van Wyck's administration Croker is popularly supposed to have dominated completely the government of the city. After Croker's failure to carry the city in the presidential election of 1900 and the defeat of his mayoralty candidate, Edward M. Shepard in 1901, he resigned from his position of leadership in Tammany and was succeeded by Lewis Nixon. He retired to a country life in England and Ireland. In 1907 he won the Epsom Derby with his race-horse Orby. He married Beulah Benson Edmondson in 1914 when he was 71 years old.
He died in 1922 in Ireland. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Date from 1911 EB article; Spartacus.net and some other sources say 1841. The 1880 US Census shows a Richard Croker, an ex-coroner at that date, born in Ireland in 1843, living in Harrison, Westchester, New York. It does not show any other Irish-born Richard Croker. Found by searching for the relevant terms at [1], October 7, 2006.
- ^ "Richard Croker Dies In His Irish Castle As Result Of Cold", New York Times, April 29, 1922. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. "Ex-Tammany Boss, Aged 80 Suffered Exposure On Trip From America In October. Dictator Here 16 Years Gang Leader, Prize Fighter, Alderman, Coroner Before He became Tammany's Chief. Made Fortune In Politics Went Abroad To Live And Wonderby. Last Years Embittered By Fight With Children. London, April 29, 1922. Richard Croker, former leader of Tammany Hall, died at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon at Glencairn Castle, his residence in County Dublin."
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
[edit] External links
| Preceded by John Kelly |
Tammany Hall 1886-1902 |
Succeeded by Lewis Nixon |
